Bringing Egypt to Capitol Hill

As AAI’s new Government Relations Manager on Foreign Policy, I wanted take the opportunity to update you with some of the work the Arab American Institute has been carrying out to ensure that U.S. policy toward the Arab world reflects the changing realities of the situation on the ground.

In December, AAI submitted a formal request to the Obama Administration to grant Temporary Protected Status to Syrian citizens currently residing in the U.S. in order to keep them safe from on-going violence at home. We’re maintaining pressure while the request works its way through the administration, and we will keep you updated on its progress.

Next Tuesday, January 31, AAI will be hosting a congressional briefing on Egypt: One Year after the Revolution, featuring Ashraf Khalil and Dr. Jim Zogby. Ashraf Khalil is a journalist and author of the recently-published book Liberation Square: The Egyptian Revolution and the Rebirth of a Nation. He has reported for numerous publications including the Los Angeles Times, The Times of London, and Foreign Policy, and his book has received excellent reviews. The briefing will be open to the public so please click here to see more information, and contact me at saraabi@aaiusa.org if you are interested in attending.

For those of you who have been following the Republican presidential nomination campaign, we’re very excited to announce a new interactive resource we’ve been putting together, which allows you to track candidate statements on a number of important issues. You can browse the site by candidate, or compare candidate statements on specific issues including the “Arab Spring”, Israel/Palestine, Iran, and many others.

We’ve also been building momentum for our Yalla Change campaign, which seeks to mobilize voters around issues of importance to the Arab American community. Yalla Change will attempt to galvanize the global momentum for change into tangible bulwarks against racial discrimination, Islamophobia, the erosion of our civil liberties, and the government’s one-sided approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Yalla Change website is still under construction, but please check back regularly to learn more and get involved.

We hope to see you at our events, and please let me know if there’s anything else you would like to see us doing.